I can still remember

When I bought my first guitar

Remember just how good the feeling

To put it proudly in my car

And my family listened fifty times

To my two song repertoire

I told my mom

Her only son was gonna be a star

Bought all the Beatles records

I sounded just like Paul

I bought all the old Chuck Berry's - 78's and all

I sat by my record player

Playing every note they played

I watched them all on TV

Making every move they made



Rock and roll, I gave you all

The best years of my life

All the dreamy sunny Sundays

All the moonlit summer nights

I was so busy in the backroom

Writing love songs to you

While you were changing your direction

And you never even knew

That I was always just one step behind you



Sixty-six seemed like the year

I was really going somewhere

We were living in San Francisco

With flowers in our hair

Singing songs of kindness

So the world would understand

To the guys and me you were something more

Than just another band



And then sixty-nine in LA

Came around so soon

We were really making headway

And writing lots of tunes

And we must have played

The wildest stuff that we had ever played

And the way the crowds cried out for us

We thought we had it made



Rock and roll, I gave you all

The best years of my life

All the crazy, lazy, young days

All the magic moon at night

I was so busy on the road

Singing love songs to you

While you were changing your direction

And you never even knew

That I was always just one step behind you



Seventy-one and so alone

When I met Susanne

I was trying to go it solo

With someone else's band

She came up to me later

And I took her by the hand

And I told her all my troubles

And she seemed to understand



And she followed me to London

Through a hundred hotel rooms

Through a hundred record companies

Who didn't like my tunes

She followed me when finally

I sold my old guitar

She tried to help me

Understand I'd never be a star



Rock and roll, I gave you

All the best years of my life

All the dreamy, sunny Sundays

All the moonlit summer nights

And though I never knew

The magic of making it with you

That I thank the Lord for giving me

The little bit I knew

And I was always just one step behind you